I love seeing the sleek, black-and-white figures of male common mergansers in breeding plumage on the partially frozen waters of the Bow River. There seems to be a certain symmetry between the winter river and the birds. On overcast days, the river appears black and white and grey, its thick ice covered in blankets of […]
Tag: Common Merganser
Common Merganser Dancing
While I was standing on the shore of the Elbow River at Sandy Beach Park this morning, a group of seven immature Common Mergansers floated past me and settled onto a large, flat rock for a bout of preening. Immature Common Mergansers resemble females but their facial markings are a bit different and their eyes […]
A sparrow and four duck species!
There was a song sparrow hopping along the boardwalk that leads to the lake. It was a little too far and a little too mobile for my camera to focus on it well. By chance, this picture also has Mallards (4 males and one female), American Wigeons (3 males one female), a Common Merganser (female) […]